this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2024
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Internet forums are disappearing because now it's all Reddit and Discord. And that's worrying. (www.xataka.com)
submitted 5 months ago by i_have_no_enemies@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] Badeendje@lemmy.world 221 points 5 months ago (6 children)

I don't understand why discord is so popular for communities. There is 0 permanence, and google does not index it so not even organic growth.

Discord is a black hole of knowledge except for the ai training companies.

[–] SorteKanin@feddit.dk 34 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

It attracts a different audience, so in aggregate it seems like your community is suddenly bigger because 1+1=2 right? What you don't realize is that you've divided your community into two separate groups with possibly different wants, needs and cultures.

[–] GreatAlbatross@feddit.uk 7 points 5 months ago

Or that 50% of the users on the discord only went there to find one thing, and probably won't ever interact again.
So it looks like a bigger community, while losing accessibility.

[–] lemmyvore@feddit.nl 31 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It's s great fit for people with goldfish memory span.

[–] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 22 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

It has a terrible privacy policy.

https://tosdr.org/en/service/536

This is Lemmy’s for comparison.

https://tosdr.org/en/service/9267

[–] TexMexBazooka@lemm.ee 11 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Whoa, that’s a really fucking cool website, thank you for sharing with us

[–] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

No problem! I’m a big fan.

[–] recklessengagement@lemmy.world 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Stopped using Discord a few months ago. Not for any specific reason, just felt like I wasn't using my time effectively. Anyone important added me on Signal, and then I deleted the apps from my phone and computer.

I can't put words to how much better my mental health has gotten.

This doesn't really relate to your comment, I guess, but just thought I would mention it in case anyone else is considering taking a break from the platform.

[–] Carnelian@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

What did you do on the platform out of curiosity? I felt similarly when I left other social medias.

Discord I mainly use to keep an eye on early access games and dev updates, and occasionally ask or answer questions. Although I did get into it after deleting other social media so I may be subconsciously avoiding the more toxic parts of the experience

[–] xnx 6 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Because its very easy to use and does stuff no other platform does (make it extremely easy to voice/video chat with multiple people streaming screen and essentially make a forum in 2 clicks)

[–] RaoulDook@lemmy.world 40 points 5 months ago (3 children)

That's all good but those features are not what makes a good discussion forum. This, what we're typing on, is an example of a good forum.

[–] Alk@lemmy.world 14 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Some communities don't need a good discussion forum, they need voice chat with a little text chat. Originally, discord was for gaming groups and it worked amazingly for that. Now, more communities are on it than should be, but its still a good feature set for gaming groups.

[–] lemmyvore@feddit.nl 1 points 5 months ago

If Discord would add wikis and improve its search it would freaking destroy everything else. It would be the place for everything a modern gaming community could want.

[–] MentorKitten@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Because it shouldn't be used as a discussion forum. It's more similar to an irc and teamspeak

[–] aStonedSanta@lemm.ee 6 points 5 months ago

You can actually make forums inside of channels now if you are a community discord. But search is still shit lol

[–] lemmyvore@feddit.nl 1 points 5 months ago

People who use discord don't want to use it like a forum. They want instant interaction.

If you think about it a lot of forum banter is just that, just because it's slower and persistent doesn't guarantee a higher signal to noise ratio.

If Discord were to add wikis so people can add persistent FAQs and guides it would cover 99% of its user needs.

[–] TexMexBazooka@lemm.ee 1 points 5 months ago

People are after whatever fulfills their immediate need

[–] Zos_Kia@lemmynsfw.com 4 points 5 months ago

Also their role system is badass. It's incredibly fine grained and makes it possible to manage large communities with plenty of different user levels.

[–] Buttons@programming.dev 2 points 5 months ago

Google doesn't index Discord, which means the billion dollar ad industry makes little effort to push their ads on Discord.